How To Make A Basic Paper Airplane

~ The Dart ~

This is a tutorial on how to make a basic paper airplane called the dart. It’s the one you probably first made as a kid because it’s the easiest to make and remember, and it flies really, really good for such a basic paper airplane.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our History of Paper Airplanes page and see why this plane is the grandfather of all the paper airplanes you see being made today. You’ll read about how the patent filed by Butler and Edwards in 1867 set the stage for our favorite hobby.

The other thing to note about the Dart is that its design is the basis for many (if not most) of the other popular planes we love to make. The swept delta wing design makes for great speed and distance! You can create two distinctly different looks by changing one fold. First, as we’re showing in Step 5 below, when you fold the sheet in half if the folds are on the outside in this step they will be hidden beneath the plane when you finish. Instead, you can fold the sheet in this step so that the folds are on the inside when you fold the sheet in half, which will result in a different finished look with the folds visible on the top, but giving the plane a smoother underside. Here’s another picture guide on making this basic plane.

How To Make A Basic Paper Airplane:

• Step 1 – Fold the paper in half lengthwise and make a crease.
• Step 2 – Start with one corner, fold it over and line up the edge with the center crease.
• Step 2 – Flip the paper over and do the same with the other side, making sure to line the edges up as close as possible.
• Step 3 – In this step fold the plane in half, with the folds on the outside (as shown).
• Step 4 – Now simply fold one side down onto the center crease, making sure to line up the edges for a better plane.
• Step 5 – Flip the plane over and fold that side down.
• Step 6 – Now you will fold each side down one more time to finish the wings.
• Step 7 – That’s all there is to it. Fly that thing!

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If you want to make a really cool plane, check out our other paper airplane tutorials like the Condor.